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Ligand Receives Milestone Payment from Merck
Milestone payment triggered by acceptance for review of a BLA for V114, an investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that utilizes Ligand’s
About this update from Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
[{"type":"text","content":"\nMilestone payment triggered by acceptance for review of a BLA for V114, an investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that utilizes Ligand’s CRM197 carrier protein\n\n SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nLigand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) today reported that the company will receive a $1.5 million milestone payment from Merck triggered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) acceptance for review of a biologics license application (BLA) for V114, an investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate for the prevention of pneumococcal disease in adults.\n\n“This collaboration with Merck is one of the core assets that catalyzed our acquisition of Pfenex last October,” said John Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Ligand. “If commercially launched, Ligand is entitled to a low-single-digit royalty on net sales of V114. The CRM197 carrier protein produced via our patent protected Protein Expression Technology platform is utilized in the V114 vaccine program.”\n\nAbout Protein Expression Technology Platform \n\nThe Protein Expression Technology is a robust, validated, cost-effective and scalable platform for recombinant protein production, and is especially well-suited for complex, large-scale protein production where traditional systems are not suitable. Multiple global manufacturers have demonstrated consistent success with the platform and the technology is currently out-licensed for numerous commercial and development-stage programs. The versatility of the platform has been demonstrated in the production of enzymes, peptides, antibody derivatives and engineered non-natural proteins. Partners seek the platform as it can contribute significant value to biopharmaceutical development programs by reducing development timelines and costs for manufacturing therapeutics and vaccines. Given pharmaceutical industry trends toward large molecules with increasing structural complexities, the Protein Expression Technology is well positioned to meet these growing needs as the most comprehensive broadly available protein production platform in the industry.\n\nAbout Ligand Pharmaceuticals\n\nLigand is a revenue-generating biopharmaceutical company focused on developing or acquiring technologies that help pharmaceutical companies discover and develop medicines. Ligand’s business model creates va...